It is well known in the field of firearms that the muzzle velocity and energy of a bullet is directly related to the powder charge which projects the bullet. To increase the powder mass in the casing, it is common to increase the casing diameter relative to the bullet size, to produce a bullet having a bottleneck configuration. In such manner it is possible, for example, to propel a 0.357 magnum bullet with a powder charge normally used in a 0.44 magnum cartridge.
This technique produces bottlenecked bullets which are useful in rifles and some forms of automatic weapons. However, the bottleneck cartridge is not suitable for use in a revolver, with requires a cylindrical cartridge to be seated properly in the standard chamber of the cylinder.